#Japan2015

Going to Japan was, by far, the most incredible experience of my life.

As many of you know, I'm a fanatic member of the Orlando Runner's Club. What you may not know, is that the Orlando Runner's Club (ORC) has a sister running club, the Uraysu Runner's Club (URC), in Uraysu Japan. As a part of the sister running club program, the URC sends runners here every year to do the OUC Half in December, and we send runners to Japan to do the Tokyo Bay Uraysu City Marathon (which is currently a 10k as the city rebuilds after a natural disaster). This year I was selected to go to Uraysu along with another ORC member and her husband.

Arriving in Japan was awesome. The flight was long, but the moment we stepped out of customs, we were greeted by a group of friends with smiles.

That night they had a welcome dinner for us at a restaurant in the mall that was attached to our hotel. It was great to see old friends and make new friends.

The next morning we had a special meeting with Uraysu's mayor, Mayor Matsuzaki. I gave a short speech in Japanese (and I was SO NERVOUS), and we exchanged gifts with the mayor.

Speech Time!

The awesome origami ram (because it's the
year of the ram) my dad made for the mayor

After our meeting with the mayor, our URC friends took us sight seeing in Tokyo. It was a cold day with a "wintery mix," of rain and snow with a high layer of fog. But we didn't let the weather get us down. First we went to the top of a tall building so we could see around. The fog prevented us from being able to see everything, but we could still see many of the beautiful landmarks in the area.

From that viewpoint, we could see our next stop, the Sensi-Ji Temple.

It was a really cool place. There is a long alley leading up to it that houses many shops that sell all sorts of goodies, souvenirs, and trinkets. The Temple itself is beautiful.

Buddhist temples and shrines are nothing like what I would have imagined. I would have pictured them as being, essentially, like a church, except maybe more ornate. Buddhist temples though are like attractions for both tourists and locals. They feature beautiful and symbolic statues, golden Buddha statues, and a million little things you can do for a few yen.

One such thing is fortune telling. Here's how it works:
Step 1- put some yen in the box.
Step 2- Shake the heck out of this can thing that has a bunch of little numbered sticks in it until one comes out of the tiny little hole.

Step 3- Find the drawer with the same number on it as was on your stick, and grab your fortune.

Step 4- Get really confused and kinda irritated because your fortune is bad (lol). But don't fret because apparently they're all bad, and there's one more step to get rid of your newly purchased bad luck.
Step 5- Fold up your piece of paper lengthwise, and tie it on the wire with all the others, and Poof! The Buddha will turn your bad luck into good luck, and it worked. Just as we were leaving the temple, a huge piece of ice slid off the roof and juuuuuussssssst missed me. My new found luck was the joke of the rest of the trip, and was totally worth a few yen.

After some chilly sightseeing of the temple grounds and some shrine pit stops...

 we were off to Tokyo tower! Tokyo tower is like a mini version of the Eiffel tower, and was a gift from France to Japan.

On our way to dinner, we went to Ginza, which is like Tokyo's version of 5th Avenue in New York- fancy shops and fancy people.

That night, we had mange for dinner we had manga, and it was quite the experience. The restaurant was the kind where you take your shoes off and sit on the floor. Manga is a food you make yourself on a cook top on your table. And it's an endless experience, lol. Like, 2 and a half hours, 8 courses, lots and lots and lots of food.

The next morning was training day. We joined the URC for their weekly training and stretching, and even hung out with the Turtles- the URC children's running club.

 Next up, we went to the Meji Shrine. It's a beautiful shrine surrounded by natural beauty.

Barrels full of sake donated to the shrine... yum!

Selfie Stick goes international!!

Hand cleansing for purification

There was a traditional Japanese wedding going on while we were there!

After the Meji Shrine we went to Harajuku, which is the young fashion district. It's also the most crowded place I've ever been.

You order your crepes by number

Harajuku is also famous for their scrumptious crepes.

Strawberries, strawberry ice cream, and cheesecake crepe, YUM!!

The last stop of the day was Shibuya, which is Tokyo's version of times square, and home to the world's busiest intersection.

The next day was race day! We ran the Tokyo Bay Uraysu City 10k. It was SUPER windy and cold, but it was a beautiful course filled with great friends.

 

Mt. Fuji

That night, the URC had an awesome party, and they dressed Marissa and I in kimonos.

The after party was karaoke! Japanese karaoke is a bazillion times better than American karaoke!!

The next day we went to Kamakura, which is a city with very old, beautiful temples, and the Big Buddha.

Gorgeous Japanese-style garden

The Pacific Ocean

That night Azusa, Marissa and Dean's homestay, threw us a party at her house, and, since we "honored," our guests with a beer bong in December, they busted out beer bong glasses for us!

The last day, Rina, my home stay, planned a day in her hometown, Narita. First we went to a really cool outdoor museum. It had a model village to show what villages used to be like. We made rice cakes the old fashioned way.

...and we became samurais!

My home stay Rina and I

A traditional dress worn over your
wedding dress after you get married

After building up the hunger of a samurai, we went to a lunch at a place with the food on conveyer belts.

Even with a flight taking us home in a mere few hours, we still weren't done. February 3rd is the first day of Spring, and they welcome Spring with the Setsubun, aka Soybean Throwing, Festival. We went to a Setsubun Festival at a temple in Narita.

The guys in pink are champion sumo wrestlers, and all the
girls were gaga over them, lol

Selfie Stick strikes again!

The complete explanation of the Soybean Throwing Festival is a bit fuzzy, but from what I understand, they are welcoming in life and warmth and happiness with the coming of Spring. The reason for throwing the roasted soybeans is to cast out the devil/evil/bad things and bring in happiness. In these festivals, celebrities, high ranking religious officials, and people with lots of money (they have to pay like $10,000) throw soybeans at a large crowd. If someone in the crowd catches the beans, they will have good luck and fortune.

After the festival it was time to take the long flight home. I will never forget this incredible journey, and I will always cherish the memories I have with my wonderful Japanese friends.